Dart and SALT wireless partner on IXP to reduce reliance on overseas internet connectivity

(CMR) Dart and SALT Wireless announced earlier this week that the Cayman Islands’ first Internet Exchange Point (IXP) will be operational soon at Dart’s Data Centre in Camana Bay. SALT Wireless was granted an IXP license by OfReg last month with the goal of reducing the country’s dependence on international digital infrastructure and leading to improved and cheaper Internet performance for local users.

The IXP eliminates Cayman’s dependence on international connectivity for local Internet services and Internet-based communications which, to date, have been exchanged in Miami, Florida, before being sent back to Cayman.

SALT Wireless selected the Camana Bay site for its first node as the existing infrastructure at Dart’s Data Centre allowed for a quick and secure launch.

“Dart’s foresight in the provision of cutting-edge infrastructure has served as a catalyst for our innovation and development of improved Internet services for the island,” said Blair Lilford, CEO and founder of SALT Wireless.

“We were able to reserve space in the Data Centre and scale up our operations very quickly — something that simply isn’t possible anywhere else on the island.”

Camana Bay’s Data Centre was established almost two decades ago and offers tenants the option to lease IT server space, with additional benefits of backup generators for redundancy, dual cooling and 24-hour security on site.

“With more than 800,000 square feet of commercial office space, Dart is committed to providing the type of products, services and amenities that businesses need to prosper here in the Cayman Islands,” said Ravi Campbell, senior manager — IT Operation, at Dart. “Safe, secure and fast Internet is essential to modern business operations and we are pleased to see the Data Centre being used for this purpose. Our Data Centre is Soc2 certified and we’re proud of the services we’re able to provide to valued partners such as SALT Wireless to ensure our islands are not left behind as technology advances.”

SALT Wireless has plans to install additional nodes in the coming months while also reaching out to Content Delivery Systems (CDNS) to host content such as Netflix or Spotify.